Sharpening Pencils

Still painting. And sketching. And looking for a new day job (along with so many other folks) to help pay the bills. Painting is keeping me sane during the job-hunt, otherwise I'd be completely overwhelmed and exasperated. My motto right now is just to stay positive, stay strong, and keep plugging away. And so, that's precisely what I'm doing.

Here's a few peeks into my current sketchbook...

I have more painting to do, so I must get back to work. Hopefully the weekend will bring some sun and blue skies! I'm starting to get a bit antsy for Spring...

Eight Legs Are Better Than Two

As hinted at earlier, I have some sneak peeks of a work-in-progress painting I've been plugging away at. I started this one last year and shunted it to the side to work on other projects, but since it would fit perfectly for this upcoming show in March, I whipped it back out again to finish.Done in a faux-circus-side-show-poster theme with a slight Northern Renaissance influence (there's a hefty amount of gold leafing on this one), it's a bit large for me at 11x14". I'm so glad I didn't paint it any smaller though, as I had to use my smallest brush for the portraiture.He's coming along, though! I just need to add some tentacles to those writhing legs, and paint an elaborate banner down towards the bottom and it will practically be done.It always feels so good to complete a project that has been lying around unfinished forever. Yes sirree.

Happy Wednesday, folks!

Will You Be My Trilobite?

Thank you for bearing with me during my irregular postings, gang. Things have been a little crazy 'round these parts as of late. Just last week I realized that I only have a month to get 10 paintings finished for my next show in March and promptly sorta freaked out a bit. Lot of work, not much time. So, I've had my head and hands buried amongst the paints and sketchbooks to work out new ideas.

The theme for my pieces will be an oceanic-explorations one. Not a huge surprise there. I'll be including a few artworks from last year, but most will be new ones.

This one of a trilobite fossil was finished last Wednesday and is all set to go:

"Specimen No. 283" acrylic on cradled hardboard, 6x6"

{detail}

A trilobite with dainty little flowers and a heart-patterned background to boot? I think my head just exploded a little. I really really want to make valentines using this piece. How utterly nerdy would that be?

And speaking of nerdy, have all you US peeps seen the Edgar Allen Poe stamps now available at the post office?

How cool are these?! I'm tempted to write little Poe quotes next to them on all my outgoing bill envelopes.

Currently I'm in the midst of two more paintings, one of which was started last year and promptly thrust aside due to time constraints. I'm really excited with how it's turning out though and will have some sneak peeks to show you all in the next day or two.

Back to work I go! I'll leave you with a picture I shot a couple weeks ago of the Woodland Portrait minis all happily lined up on display in a wooden drawer:

Conversation With A Mushroom

Okay! They're now all listed and looking sharp. Here's the last four in the series:

"Albino Stag" acrylic on wood laminate tag, 1.5x2.5" {update: sold}

"Mushroom" acrylic on wood laminate tag, 1.5x2.5"

"Black Bear" acrylic on wood laminate tag, 1.5x2.5" {sold}

"Rabbit" acrylic on wood laminate tag, 1.5x2.5" {sold}

That albino stag really creeps me out...in a good way. I really like how eerily dreamy he looks, and yet at the same time, he has a sinister glint in his beady red eye. The mushroom is the only non-animal portrait in the series who almost got nixed at the last minute during the sketching phase. If there had been a fly on my wall yesterday, he might have heard something like this...

Me: "Hmmm. I really like how these are shaping up. But I'm just not so sure about the mushroom."

Mushroom Sketch: "...Oh really. Pray, do tell what the problem is."

Me: "Well, all the others are animals. And you, well, you're--"

Mushroom Sketch: "--not an animal. I see how it is. So, just because I don't have legs or wings or move about in some idiotic fashion, you're not going to paint me."

Me: "No no! That's not it at all! I just don't know if you'll fit in with the others..."

Mushroom Sketch: "I think I can take care of myself. Really. Besides, what are they going to do, eat me? I'd like to see them try."

Me: "I dunno..."

Mushroom Sketch: "Dude. You drew me. You obviously like painting mushrooms. And I fit the theme, right? I'm whimsical, I'm woodsy, I like trees and foresty places... And c'mon. You painted an albino stag for the set. An albino stag."

Me: "You've got a point there. Oh all right, what the hell..."

And thus the wee mushroom sketch was painted and officially inducted into the Woodland Portraits Series. For a mushroom, he's a bit pushy, ain't he?

The Little Bird Said To The Fox

Two more in the shop...

"Fox" acrylic on wood laminate tag, 1.5x2.5" {update: sold}

"Goldfinch" acrylic on wood laminate tag, 1.5x2.5" {sold}

Buzz Buzz Buzz

"Bumble Bee" acrylic on wood laminate tag, 1.5x2.5" {update: sold}"Great Horned Owl" acrylic on wood laminate tag, 1.5x2.5"

The first two minis are now for sale! I think the bumble bee is my favorite in the entire series. I just adore teal and yellow together. And pollen-laden bumble bees always make me pretty darn happy. Stay tuned for more!

Process

I just listed a couple new little paintings into the shop:

"Tropical Punch Anemone"--acrylic on antique 30s newspaper on wood laminate tag, 3.5x5" {sold}

"Mint Anemone"--acrylic on antique 30s newspaper on wood laminate tag, 3.5x5" {sold}

They're both quite bright and whimsical and look near identical to their rough sketched counterparts in my sketchbook:

I had a ball painting all those writhing transparent tentacles too... Lots of sketching, planning, and painting 'round these parts, I must say....And I'm nearly done with all the miniature paintings I hinted at earlier! There's a total of 8 in this series, and they're all portraits of woodland critters. Ghastly adorable.

They'll each make their way into the shop this week, day by day. I'll also upload pictures and links of each on the blog for ease of finding and cataloguing, so do keep your pretty eyes peeled.

Happy dreams, all!

Art Shows And Afghans

If anyone out near MA needs something to do this weekend, I have a couple paintings in this Apocalypse-themed show:

Opening reception is this Sunday. There should be a lot of interesting art there--wish I lived a little closer. Here's some snapshots (as usual, somewhat crappily-overexposed) of the pieces I sent off for it:

"The Last Bride" acrylic and gold composite leaf on illustration board and vintage album sleeve

"There Shall Be No Mercy" acrylic and gold composite leaf on illustration board and vintage album sleeve
{detail}

I went to my favorite Goodwill the other day and completely and utterly scored on this amazing crocheted afghan:

Ready for the price? $3.00. Uh-huh. It almost felt like I was stealing it from the store. I've been needing a throw for my couch and this is just perfect. The fact that the pattern and colors match one of my pillows is borderline eery.

Be prepared for more art on the way! I have a little stack that's steadily growing and I'll be listing them for sale this coming week. This painting update is going to consist of entirely small pieces (ranging between small and really small) so there should be something for everyone's pocketbook. I'm really digging how the collection is looking so far!

Hope you are all enjoying your new year!

Ornamental

A new year! A new beginning! So many fresh possibilities...

I promised some photos earlier of my wee Christmas tree and indeed, have not forgotten! I'm just really behind the ball on uploading my camera images.
Last month I made a small pile of these kitschy-Victorian-inspired ornaments and am pretty psyched with the outcome. The moustached men portraits were purchased earlier in the year (from alteredvintage on Etsy) and I knew instantly they had to adorn my strange little tree in some fashion.I collaged them onto colorful paint swatch samples, which I glittered and adorned for added pizazz. The backs have newspaper collaged to them as well. Add some peppermint stripe twine for a hanger and you're golden.
Most of the ornaments are handmade, either by me or other artists...
At night, the whole tree looks pretty magical. I hate to take it down...

On the art front, I'm painting up a storm and working on lots of smaller pieces that shall be unveiled one by one. One of my resolutions this year is to paint *more*. I really admire folks that can paint one piece a day. Dude, that is hard to do. I don't think I can be that productive, but I would like to bump up my production a little bit more.

Here's a new piece, freshly finished:"Luck Has Everything To Do With It" acrylic on wood laminate tag, 3.5x5"This particular painting is a bit of a play on "luck"--four leaf clovers, lucky numbers, horseshoes...or in this case, a horseshoe crab. Which I believe is far luckier. Those dang things are overtaking my sketchbooks right now. They're just so weird.

Back to painting I go! Happy New Year, gang!